


Nightwing and Sparrow

by magicvoidbouquet



Category: Batman - Fandom, DC Animated Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:55:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25284244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicvoidbouquet/pseuds/magicvoidbouquet
Summary: Following the events of DCAU film "Batman and Harley Qinn", Dick has helped Harley stay on the straight and narrow. Batman may have abandoned her as a lost cause, but Nightwing isn't giving up. What happens when the two start fighting crime together in Bludhaven? Could Dick be backing the wrong horse, or could the reformed villain be just what the masks need to make a real difference in the Sister Cities of Gotham and Bludhaven?
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Harleen Quinzel
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. Bad Habit

It was justifiable, Dick told himself. Harley – as in _the_ Harley Quinn – had gone straight. She’d helped them stop Poison Ivy and Jason Woodrue from destroying the world. Bruce wouldn’t make a deal with her, but Dick saw she was trying to turn over a new leaf since ditching the Joker. Nightwing had helped sort things out with her parole office, get a new place that wasn’t condemned, and get a better job as a peer counsellor for women coming out of abusive relationships. Things actually seemed to be on the up and up for her, and Dick was proud of her.

He’d taken to checking in on her regularly. She didn’t have many friends outside of the mask, and making new friends as a reformed villain wasn’t that easy. It would be so easy for her to fall back into her old ways if she didn’t have support.

What he hadn’t planned on, though, was just how close they’d become. No one understands hiding behind the mask except another mask, no matter which side of the battle they’re fighting for. Harley understood the loneliness, the isolation, and even the disagreements with the Bat better than anyone else outside his family ever had. At first he’d questioned if he was really doing the right thing by befriending her; was it really safe? Now, he couldn’t imagine any better friend or confidant than her.

That night, Dick swore he could rip his own hair out. It seemed like he and Bruce couldn’t agree on anything lately. Bruce had been even more combative than usual, and he was starting to wonder if the world’s greatest detective had figured out he’d been regularly visiting Harley. It would explain the recent animosity, but then Bruce was also just prone to moods sometimes.

Dropping down onto the apartment balcony, Dick knocked on the sliding door. Bright blonde hair and blue eyes peeked out from the kitchen with a grin. No one else showed up on her balcony, and it was movie night anyway. He was late, but she wasn’t mad. She’d heard about the explosion in Gotham and knew he’d probably been called away. Trotting over, she unlocked the door and slid it open.

“You’re late, Nightwig,” she tried to sound disappointed, but the smile gave her away. Her misunderstanding of his name had become a sort of term of endearment.

“Sorry, Harley,” Dick smiled apologetically. “You know the traffic.”

“At this time o’ night? I don’t think so, Mistah,” she scolded. Dick shrugged.

“Well, come on in if you’re comin’. You hungry?”

“Starved, honestly,” he said, following her in. He locked the sliding door behind him and drew the curtains.

“I made Granny Quinn’s famous goulash,” she said proudly. Since she was living somewhere with a real kitchen, she’d started cooking like it was a full-time job. Dick wasn’t going to complain; she was a good cook, and she never let him go hungry. He understood why she’d pursued psychiatry: not only had Harley came from a broken family, but she was incredibly empathetic and compassionate. She was the Mom Friend. If you had told Dick he’d be having dinner with Harley Quinn once a week, he would have laughed in your face.

“That sounds amazing,” Dick sighed. He collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table with a heavy groan.

“Rough night?” Harley asked as she served up a bowl for him.

“No broken bones this time, luckily. Getting thrown from the 15th floor of a building doesn’t get any easier on the body with age.” He relaxed and slid further down into the chair.

“Aren’t you only 23?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Not for much longer. I’ll be 24 in a month.”

Harley whistled almost impressed as she put the bowl in front of him and sat down in the other chair. “The little bird really is all grown up. I forget you’re only a few years younger than me.” Dick didn’t respond. He was too busy shoveling food into his mouth as fast as he could.

When he finally came up for air, Dick asked, “So, how was work this week?”

Harley seemed to deflate almost instantly, “I’ve started mentoring a victim of child marriage. She’d been sexually abused since she was 14. She finally escaped that awful monstah after 5 years.”

Dick understood Harley’s desired to help other victimized men and women recover from situations like hers, but sometimes he wondered how she could put up with the darkness in the world like that every single day while still remaining as upbeat as she did.

“You’re a saint, Harley. You know that?” he said, amazement in his tone. She smiled and looked away.

“I’m just tryin’ to do better. I’ve got a lot to make up for.”

“I’m really proud of the progress you’ve made. You’re doing amazing work out there every day.”

“So are you,” she chirped. Dick laughed.

“I just punch my way through the bad guys. You’re actually helping people recover.”

“Yeah, sure, but it must be exciting.”

Dick smiled sheepishly, “Maybe a little. You know, if you ever decided to put the mask on again, I’d be glad to have you by my side.”

“Really?” Harley looked completely surprised by his statement.

“Sure, why not? You kicked my ass plenty of times over the years. You’ve got the skills, the experience, and I’ve even seen you talk Ivy down from destroying the entire world.”

“You know,” she said, expression contemplative, “I might just take you up on that offer, Nightwig. I’ve been itching to get back out there, but this time I want to be on the right side of the fight.”

“You just tell me when you’re ready, Harls,” Dick smiled softly.


	2. (Re)Making A Mask

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick opened the door for Harley to join him fighting crime and she hasn't stopped thinking about it since.

It had been a few weeks since Nightwing and Harley had talked about teaming up. She’d been thinking about it ever since. She did good work every day, sure, but she missed the action and excitement behind the mask. Harley admired what he did every night putting himself in harm’s way to help better the city. She might not know who he was behind the mask, but that didn’t matter. He was a good man.

In thinking about taking up with Nightwing, she’d started thinking about how to rebrand herself. Harley Quinn had been the persona she adopted when she fell in love with The Joker, and she wanted to leave that behind just as she’d left him. Nightwing had come to Bludhaven to make a name for himself away from Batman’s shadow, and he’d never adopted the Bat persona. She couldn’t blame him for that. Those were big boots to fill, and Dick didn’t even agree with Batman’s methods of fear and intimidation. Nightwing inspired her, though.

**Incoming Call: Harleen Quinzel**

Dick ducked under a car that came hurtling toward him and touched the earpiece in his right ear, “Now isn’t exactly the best time, Harls.”

“I know, I know, I have the worst time, but listen-“ Harley started, cut off by the sound of crashing on the other end of the line. “You okay, Nightwig?”

“Oh, sure, just having a playdate with Clayface,” Nightwing chirped sarcastically.

“He’s weak to ultrasonic waves and sleeping gas,” Harley added. 

Duh. He’d fought Clayface numerous times over the years. How did he keep forgetting this sort of thing?

“You’re a lifesaver. Can I call you back when I’m done?”

“Sure thing.”

*****

“So, what’s up, Harley?” Nightwing asked into the receiver, settling on the edge of a roof above the city.

“I wanna take you up on your offer. I wanna be one a’ the good guys.” Harley sounded dead serious.

“Are you sure about that Harls? You’d be facing off against a lot of the same guys you used to work with.”

“I know, but I think maybe I could convince them to put the whole bad guy thing away for good. I got straight, and my life is better than ever.”

There she went again with that boundless compassion, wanting better for anyone and everyone she ever crossed paths with. Given what she’d been through over the years, he didn’t know how she avoided turning bitter and angry. Nightwing sighed, smiling and shaking his head to himself.

“I’m sure about this,” Harley continued. “And I want to work with you. Equal partners.”

There was a long silence on Nightwing’s end. Harley started to worry he might turn her down, but then he finally said, “Okay. I’ll stop by tonight.”

“I’ll leave the door open for you,” Harley said, the smile evident in her voice.

*****

Just as expected, the balcony door was open when he arrived. He stepped inside, closing it behind him. He’d never once used the front door, but then she only knew him by his pseudonym. It would probably seem odd if he passed one of her neighbours on the way up the stairs.

Harley was working on a crossword at the kitchen table, just waiting for him to finally arrive. “Hey there, Nightie,” she grinned, getting up and padding over to give him a greeting hug. “Phew…you need a shower…” 

“Well, Clayface came up from the sewers and I just got finished getting pummeled pretty hard,” he chuckled. 

“Yeah, you smell like it,” Harley said with a scrunched up face, waving her hand in front of her nose. “You bettah get that dry cleaned.”

Nightwing smiled softly, “Will do. Listen, if you’re really serious about working together, I’m all in. You’ve been on the straight and narrow for a while now, and I think you could help me do some real good in this city.”

“You really think so?” She lit up like the sun.

“Yeah. I really do, Harls. But if you’re going to trust me, I know I have to trust you, too.” Nightwing sighed, trying to roll the tenseness out of his shoulders. He’d only revealed his identity to a few others outside of his family. Unlike Bruce, he tried to keep it a secret as much as possible. He didn’t have a string of crazy ex-girlfriends who all knew his real name.

“Nightwig, you don’t have to do that,” Harley said softly, realizing what he was saying. 

“We’ve been friends a while now, haven’t we? And now you want to put yourself in the line of fire, maybe even die for this city?”

“Yeagh, but-“

“Equal partners, Harleen,” he said, reaching up and removing the domino mask. There was a long, heavy moment of silence between them. “My real name is Dick Grayson.” His expression turned to one of confusion because Harley was snickering.

“You didn’t need to, Nightwig. I already knew,” she finally managed to get over her laughter. “I figured out Bruce Wayne was Batman years ago, but I never told Mistah J.”

“You…what?”

“Sure, it wasn’t that hard to put it all together,” he shrugged. Sometimes it was so easy to forget she wasn’t just a ditzy blonde. Harleen Quinzel was a doctor and practically a genius. 

Dick started to laugh, dropping his face into his hands. Of course she knew. They’d been spending time together for well over a year, so if she hadn’t figured it out years ago after all the times they crossed paths, she could have figured it out in the time they’d been hanging out every week. Finally looking back up to her, he shook his head in disbelief, “I can’t believe you never said anything.”

“I wanted you to trust me and come out with it on your own, but it was too fun to pass up the opportunity to get you like that,” she giggled. Once a clown, always a clown? Dick rolled his eyes and batted at one of her pigtails. 

“Alright, well, you got me good,” he admitted.

“So, when do we start, partner?” Harley asked eagerly.

“Well, first we’re going to need to change your image and separate you from the old Harley Quinn. You’re one of us now.”

“How about Sparrow?” Harley asked.

“What?”

Harley took Dick’s hand and led him over to the kitchen table where a stack of papers lay showing she’d already started to mockup a new costume for herself under the moniker “Sparrow”. She had clearly spent some time and thought on it. Dick picked one up and inspected the notes. Cleverly placed body armour to avoid restricting movement and accommodate her body type better, light boots with protection against electric shock and slipping…she’d thought of everything. Even a utility belt and cleverly placed stash pockets all over the suit. He couldn’t deny he liked the design. It resembled an old costume he’d worn for a while with the image of a bird on the front, but hers was less angular, more graceful, and smaller.

“I designed my first suit myself. I mighta gotten a little carried away this time,” she said sheepishly.

Dick shook his head, dumbfounded, “No, this is great. This is…amazing. You thought of every possible detail. Maybe I should let you redesign mine.” He chuckled, and he could see the way she soaked up the praise. She looked so excited. “So, Sparrow?”

“You’re the one who believed in me when no one else would,” she said quietly. “I kinda wanted to honour that. You’ve inspired me to be the best I can.”

Dick honestly felt like he might cry. Was this what it felt like to be Bruce with a young Robin looking up to him? He promised himself right there he wouldn’t make the same mistakes with Harley that Bruce had made when mentoring him.

“I like it,” Dick nodded affirmatively.


End file.
